Val Char Cost Roll Notes 8 STR -2 11- Lift 75 kg; 1 1/2d6 HTH damage [2] 11 DEX 3 11- OCV: 4/DCV: 4 10 CON 0 11- 10 BODY 0 11- 18 INT 8 13- PER Roll 13- 20 EGO 20 13- ECV: 7 23 PRE 13 14- PRE Attack: 4 1/2d6 8 COM -1 11- 3 PD 1 Total: 3 PD (2 rPD) 3 ED 1 Total: 3 ED (2 rED) 3 SPD 9 Phases: 4, 8, 12 4 REC 0 28 END 4 19 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 53 Movement: Running: 5"/10" Leaping: 1 1/2"/3" Swimming: 1"/2" Cost Powers & Skills 20 Horrifying Mental Prowess: Elemental Control, 40-point powers 27 1) Remote Attack: Ego Attack 3d6, Does BODY (+1); Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2), END 6 13 2) Domination: Mind Control 8d6; Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), END 4 20 3) Searching For Minds: Mind Scan 8d6, END 4 12 The Blood Of Egypt: Mind Control +4d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Limited Class Of Minds (Only Versus Those of Egyptian Descent; -1), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2) 11 Sacrificial Dagger: HKA 1d6 (1d6+1 w/STR), Armor Piercing (+1/2); OAF (-1), END 2 2 Tough Leathery Skin: Damage Resistance (2 PD/2 ED) 5 Powerful Mind: Mental Defense (9 points total) 23 The Pool Of Time: Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Sight And Hearing Groups), x16 Range (4400"), Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees); OAF: Any Small Pool Of Water (-1), Extra Time (1 Minute, Only to Activate, -3/4), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), END 7 8 Detect Previous Incarnations: Detect 13- (Mental Group), Discriminatory 7 Undead Vitality: Healing 1 BODY, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Turn (Post-Segment 12) (-1 1/4), Self Only (-1/2) 5 Undead Vitality: Life Support (Longevity Immortal) Skills 3 Analyze: Magic 13- 2 AK: Egypt 11- 3 Concealment 13- 3 CuK: Ancient Egypt 13- 3 Deduction 13- 3 Inventor (Spell Research) 13- 17 Power 20- 3 Security Systems 13- 3 Shadowing 13- 5 Stealth 12- 2 WF: Blades, Polearms and Spears 3 Scholar 4 1) KS: Egyptian Necromancy 15- 2 2) KS: Gods Of Egypt 13- 2 3) KS: Occultism 13- 1 4) KS: Other Undead 11- Total Powers & Skills Cost: 212 Total Cost: 265 75+ Disadvantages 15 Distinctive Features: Leathery, Cracked Skin (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 10 Distinctive Features: Spooky Aura and Gaze (Easily Concealed; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Psychological Limitation: Overconfidence (Common, Strong) 20 Psychological Limitation: Searching For The latest Incarnation of Ankh-es-en-Amon (Very Common, Strong) 20 Psychological Limitation: Seeks To Prove His Superiority To The Gods (Very Common, Strong) 5 Reputation: Notorious Ancient Egyptian Wizard and Heretic, 8- (Extreme; Known Only To A Small Group) 5 Social Limitation: Secret identity: Ardath Bey (Occasionally, Minor) 90 Experience/Bonus Total Disadvantage Points: 265
Background: Im-Ho-Tep was a powerful and respected court wizard in Egypt approximately 3700 years ago. He loved the princess Ankh-es-en-Amon, so much so that when she died he tried to use the forbidden magics contained in the infamous Scroll Of Thoth to resurrect her, defying the powers of the gods. He was caught and sentenced to living mummification, and was buried in a tomb along with the scroll so that no one would again be tempted to use it.
In 1921 an expedition led by Joseph Whemple uncovered the tomb and recovered both the mummy and the Scroll. A careless assistant translated some of the Scroll out loud, causing Im-Ho-Tep to return to the land of the living (and incidentally driving the poor archaeologist to gibbering madness.) Im-Ho-Tep escaped the encampment and was not seen again for over a decade. In that time he created the identity of wealthy Egyptian businessman Ardath Bey, no doubt using his extensive mental powers, and searched to find whatever had become of the body of his beloved princess so that he could restore her as well. Eventually he found the location of her tomb, and “assisted” another expedition from the British Museum (coincidentally run by Whemple’s son Frank) in finding it in 1932. Ankh-es-en-Amon’s mummified body was indeed recovered and put in a local museum, but when Im-Ho-Tep snuck into the museum after hours one night to perform the revivifying rituals he discovered her soul had been freed from her body and reincarnated dozens of times over the succeeding centuries.
Im-Ho-Tep found the latest incarnation of his beloved, a young woman named Helen Grosvenor. Subtly controlling her mind, Im-Ho-Tep tried several times to bring her to him, while battling both Frank and the reknowned occultist Dr. Muller, who had discovered his secrets. Eventually he trapped Helen and prepared to sacrifice her and then reraise her so his love could fully live again in her body, but the ritual was interrupted both by Frank and the goddess Isis, who punished Im-Ho-Tep again for his effrontery and burned his body, returning it to its mummified state.
However, the magics animating Im-Ho-Tep remained powerful, and after several years he rose again from the storage rooms below the museum where his body had been kept. By this time Helen had apparently died in a tragic car accident, and so Ankh-es-en-Amon’s soul is still out there, perhaps already living in yet another incarnation. Im-Ho-Tep will find her, eventually, and then once and for all he will demonstrate his mastery over life, death, and the gods themselves. No matter what forces may lie in the way, his power will be infinite. He has never met any of the other PCs.
Roleplaying Notes: Im-Ho-Tep has the grandest visions of the assembled monsters. His original crime was the usurpation of the powers of the gods over life and death, to restore his lover, and this act of blasphemy has led directly to his current state. He accepts no limitations on his own power, and the presumption on the part of the gods to control his destiny angers him to his very core. His first and greatest desire, even before the restoration of his love, is to establish his own dominance over the gods. Isis and Thoth in particular have drawn his enmity, since they have forbidden mortals to dabble in the magics he has devoted himself to studying. It will be the act of bringing back Ankh-es-en-Amon to life, even more than his own continued existence, that will demonstrate his own superiority. While he does indeed love her, she is more important as a symbol of his victory.
Everything else in Im-Ho-Tep’s life is secondary to this grand quest, but rulership and the taking of power comes naturally to him, and once his magics have increased he intends to eventually seize the throne first of Egypt and then the rest of the world. After all, who is more fit to reign than a man who has transcended the bonds of mortality and thrown his defiance back in the very faces of the gods themselves? But, he has the scheming nature of a vizier and the patience of an immortal—everything will come to him in time. He moves among humanity in disguise, using his powers subtly and building his power base. When the chroniclers record this period in history, it will be only as the quiet before the eventual storm of his glory. Therefore, he is content now to be reserved and unassuming, manipulating events behind the scene while continuing to search for his love in the guise of Ardath Bey, wealthy Egyptian businessman. He rarely shows his hand before it is absolutely necessary, as his enemies’ greatest flaw is always overconfidence.
Darren Watts' Return to Hero All Stars.